The US appears determined to launch a real trade war, says Wei Jianguo, vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges and former Chinese vice minister of Commerce, online news site
ifeng.com reports.
US President Donald Trump thinks a trade war would benefit the US and be easy to win, Wei says. It could help Trump achieve domestic success at this year's mid-term elections and furthermore, pave the way for a second Trump term in 2020 by allowing the president to fulfill many of his 2016 campaign promises, the economist says.
Wei believes new sweeping tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are an attempt by Trump to test international reactions before he initiates a genuine trade war. So far the move can be said to have been effective, as many countries have reacted strongly, Wei says. Stronger action should now be expected from Trump, including wide-ranging intellectual property taxes and sped-up Bilateral Trade Treaty negotiations with China.
Should the actions of the US damage the global economic recovery or, worse still, drag the world into a crisis in the way the nation did in the 1970s by launching a trade war with Europe, Wei says it will be necessary for China to unite with other nations against US trade protectionism.
Since a trade war, especially between China and US, is almost impossible to control, Wei says China must maintain high-level dialogues to avoid any misjudgment. It’s important for China to send the US the message that other options to deal with trade friction, such as cooperation in third-party markets, are still on the table.
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